Update 12/8/09 I’m thrilled to share that I’m a featured blogger for Oprah’s Holiday 2009 where this recipe is being featured!
Pâte à Choux
paht-ah-shoo!
Sounds like sneeze, those fancy French words that I can’t ever get right!
But so easy that it can be summed up with this ratio 1:1:1:1:1
1 cup water: 1 stick butter: 1 cup flour: 1 cup eggs: 1 pinch salt
And so easy that even *I* an oven-fearing, non-baker could master it on the very first try.
So easy that I’ve made these cute little babies 6 times in the past 6 days.
Now that’s easy.
Or obsessive.
Either way, you MUST make these — like TONIGHT! Or perhaps your holiday meal? I’ll be making Pâte à Choux for our Thanksgiving dinner! Actually, I’ll add gruyere cheese and make gougeres.
And if you try to make me pronounce gougeres, I can’t.
So we’re calling them “Fancy Cheesy Puffy Poofs” at dinner.
The person responsible for my little poofy puffy pastry addiction is none other than Michael Ruhlman and his very useful ratios. Who knew 1:1:1:1:1 could do this? Well, Ruhlman did, and I know there are Pâte à Choux recipes out there that is way more complicated than 1:1:1:1:1….remember…
Rule #1: Simplest is best.
Rule #2: It’s RUHLMAN.
Oh but wait. I know what some of you smarty pants are going to say – this isn’t a TRUE Ruhlman ratio. A true Ruhlman ratio is by weight. And my 1:1:1:1:1 isn’t by weight — it’s just my way of remembering this recipe.
This choux dough is so versatile, that you can make the puffs sweet or savory. In fact, you can fill ‘em with cream to get Cream Puffs, fry them to get farts of nuns, make easy donuts, stuff them, boil them, dip them in chocolate, drizzle them with chocolate, serve ‘em with sauteed cherries, make cute little ice cream sandwiches with them, dip in peppermint fudge sauce, boil/saute for parisian gnocchi <- watch those 2 videos of Thomas Keller.
PrintBasic Pâte à Choux (cream puff dough) Recipe
(paht-ah-shoo)
makes 20 medium puffs
recipe from Michael Ruhlman
To this recipe, you can make savory (add 1 teaspoon kosher/sea salt) or sweet (add 2 teaspoons sugar)
1 cup water
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
1 cup flour
1 good pinch of salt
1 cup eggs (4 large eggs)
Preheat oven 425F.
1. In a medium pot, bring the water and butter to a simmer on medium heat. Add the flour and with a wooden spoon or spatula, stir very quickly in one direction. Carefully watch and you’ll see that the flour starts absorbing the liquid — and a dough will form. Keep stirring to continue cooking the flour and cook off some of the water, another minute or two.
2. You can do the next step one of two ways:
- Transfer the paste to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or to a bowl if you’re using a hand mixer.
- If you want to mix the eggs directly into the dough in the pot, let it cool slightly, 4 or 5 minutes, or cool off the pan itself by running cold water over its base if you will be mixing the eggs in that pot. You don’t want to cook the eggs too quickly.
3. Add the salt and the eggs one at a time mixing rapidly until each is combined into the paste. The paste will go from shiny to slippery to sticky as the egg is incorporated. The pâte a choux can be cooked immediately at this point or refrigerated for up to a day until ready to use.
4. Spoon the dough into a large gallon-sized plastic bag (or piping bag.) Use your hands to squeeze dough towards the bottom corner. With kitchen shears, snip off just the tippy tip of the bag, about 1/4″ of the tip. Pipe onto a baking sheet into little puffs, keeping the puffs 2-inches apart. With your finger, press down the peaks (as they can burn.) Bake at 425F for 10 minutes, then 350F for 18-30 minutes, depending on the size of your puffs.
To make gougeres (cheesy poofy puffs)
Stir in 1/2 cup finely grated gruyere cheese (or other grated hard cheese of your choice) + 1 teaspoon kosher/sea salt (1/2 teaspoon fine table salt) – I used a rasp/microplane grater to get ultra-light snowflakes of cheese so as not to weigh down the dough with heavy cheese. You can also sprinkle a bit of the cheese on top of the puffs after you’ve piped them.
To make gluten-free pate a choux
Head over to The Sensitive Epicure, Gluten Free Girl and Jenn Cuisine
And if you’d like to try the Easy Mushroom Pate shown in the photo below, you’ll have to head over to Tasty Kitchen.
Add a bit of truffle oil to that mushroom pate? Now that’s luxurious!
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Since my Pate a Choux NEVER works I will have to try this one. Those look fantastic. And so do the cheesey puffy thingys.
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This will be on our Thanksgiving table Jaden! and oh yeah btw this will be my first ever Thanksgiving dinner that I’ll be preparing at home.(we’ve been living here in the US for 10 years now! but we usually visit families but not this year).. so it will be our first time to roast a turkey… yay! we’re soooo excited! Happy Thanksgiving!
congrats!!! can’t wait to see what you cook up! ~j
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Nice.
At first sight I thiought you had a chicken liver pate/plain chopped one over there…. Which I like too, but with the 2 portabellas I have in the fridge this works out perf.
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Well done!! I love these little things. So easy! Made these for my students and they loved them. Nice photos.
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I had a dream last night that I made my favorite cream puffs from bakery in Hawaii. I think you posting this recipe is a sign that I’m supposed to try it!
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These look fabulous, I’ve been meaning to make biscuits lately. And I’m always up for poofy pastries. Do you think it’d turn out half as well with whole wheat flour? It’s all I have in the house!
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this is a winner, will plan on making this with cracked peppers and rosemary
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Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!!!!!!!!
Just minutes ago FedEx delivered the scanpan saute pan I won at your booksigning at Omnivore Books in San Francisco. I’m so excited. I love quality stuff and this is the best. I will enjoy and treasure it forever.
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I’m not a baker but these look pretty non-threatening and oh how I love poofy pastries! Thank you!
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OK
1) OMG I love these, thank you for the recipe!
2) LMAO – farts of nuns???
LOL
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Love your fancy cheese puffy poofs!
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yummy!!! and farts of nuns, what?? lmao! I need to make that for my little brother. He’d die.
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We must be in sync… I just made the pate a choux (by Ruhlman’s Ratio) last night, along with the pastry cream to fill them (yum!). So easy and so delicious.
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Wow – I love patty shoe. I think we’ll make ‘em instead of turkey yorkshire pudding. I think the effect will be the same. Thanks for posting the easy way.
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Hi!
I’m always so afraid to try making these, I’m from Australia & I’m not sure what one stick of butter is equivalent to in weight? 1/2 cup – does that mean 125g or 125ml melted?
Thanks!
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SteamyKitchen Reply:
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:04 pm
Jessica-by weight 113gr
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I love cream puffs! I would definitely give this easy-peasy recipe a try
Thanks Jaden!
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these look amazing, cant wait to try them!
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Brilliant, now I am thinking what should I stuff them with??? Durian perhaps??? Whahahahha.
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yes yes yes, durian is the first thing that came to my mind too! lol
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I saw this post and even before I read your admission about your non-baking self, I thought about how you’ve come so far to overcome your baking fears! These are gorgeous. I’m hungry now! And thanks so much for thinking of me (okay, well I know it wasn’t JUST me…but I’d like to pretend it was) when you linked some gluten-free versions! I might just have to try to make some of these. Or use the gluten-free version of the dough to make churros. Because churros rock. Anyway, I digress – awesome job on the pate a choux!
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Jaden – I can’t wait to try these little devils. I’ll enlist the help of my daughter to come up with either a filling or side dish. Happy Thanksgiving!
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I never knew you had a hidden inner pastry chef. These look beautiful!
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Thanks, Jaden. Because I needed to add something else to our Thanksgiving Day menu!
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Thanks for including the gluten-free options, Jaden! It’s much easier than it looks. And the rewards are so delicious.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
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This looks great – and it’s a simple recipe! Definitely something I will try as I love love love cream puffs, but can never find good ones here.
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Wonderful. I know what my next dessert bake will be! Although I’ll be pairing this with something sweet, I’m wondering if this will go well with, say, Malaysian spicy sambal anchovies or even Chinese BBQ pork (char siew)??
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That mushroom pate looks divine and I bet it tasted fabulous on gougeres! Mmmm… Thanks for the link to my post on cream puffs!
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I LOVE choux pastry. So easy and they freeze really well. In fact, I usually make a double batch (especially the cheesy ones) and freeze them in small ziplock bags. Pull out a few when companies coming and bake ‘em for about 7 minutes at 425 F and your guests will think you were cooking all day. While I love sage and cheddar puffs, my favorite new variation is a beet puff, substituting beet juice for most of the water. They turn out the most brilliant red in color. I fill them with goat cheese mousse and top with tiny greens. I recently posted the recipe and picture on my site http://littlelocavores.blogspot.com/2009/11/beet-licous.html.
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I love choux paste. Simple ingredients, yet a little tricky to make. Great photos, as usual! Thanks for including a link to my “nun’s farts”! Deep-fried choux is soooo good!
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With the same recipe, you can try to bake up some Totoro Cream Puffs:
http://www.annathered.com/2009/04/07/how-to-make-totoro-cream-puffs/
The cutest darn thing I’ve been (OK, maybe food-related) in years. I think your sons will love them.
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